Virus
by Timeloopy
Summary: The problem with a chip in your head is that you can catch a computer virus and that's every bit as deadly as the other kind. Riley is supposed to protect Gabriel from threats but how is she supposed to fight a threat that she can't even see? Will he trust her to help him or does he still hate her just a little for Amelia's death? Gabriel/Riley with a bit of angst
1. Chapter 1-Exposure

His name was Gabriel but he was no angel – never had been really. But he had been good at what he did and that was half the problem. The other half was some damn quirk of his genetic code that some scientist in a lab had zeroed in on while he was neck deep in bullets and sand trying to stay alive in the desert. There had been others with the quirk and others with the training – but he'd been the only lucky son of a bitch with both. At least, that's what they told him.

Whether he believed that luck was good or bad depended on a hundred things from his mission to his mood. And ever since he'd watched Amelia disappear in a ball of flame, his perspective had shifted from determined to damned.

He'd turned off the tracking mechanism in the chip at zero dark thirty the night it happened more out of spite than anything else. And maybe to show them that he could go off their grid whenever he wanted. That's how Mei Chen slipped in, he guessed. Because disabling their security protocols- the ones that were supposed to keep him 'safe'- had risks that he hadn't really thought about before the other agent slipped into his head without his permission.

Of course hind sight was twenty-twenty, and the whole Mei Chen incident was in the past. For the most part, he was playing things by the book these days. Was he a little bitter? Sure – his wife was dead and he still didn't quite know whether she'd betrayed her country or it had been the other way around. But he'd been a soldier long before he even met Amelia and he supposed he'd be a soldier til the day he died.

But the incident with Mei Chen had opened his mind to things the chip could do that he'd never dreamed of and hadn't really wanted to. She'd expanded his mind and no matter how hard he tried to slam the door on what she'd shown him – it kept slipping open again and luring him in.

The problem wasn't the days – when the missions were as noble as his intentions. In the day time, he had Riley beside him to keep him focused on any clear and present danger he could help his country avoid. But at night he was alone. At least, he was supposed to be.

But that damn Cyber-rendering – that handy parlor trick that helped him manipulate data in ways that were unique to his technology – became his torture at night. Because Amelia was there – every night when his conscious mind shut down and the chip was supposed to lay dormant. Amelia was there and she felt so damn real he could feel her breath on his skin. And every morning when he woke, he lost her all over again.

Sometimes he thought of telling Dr. Cassiday – in case it was some virus that Mei Chen had implanted in his psyche – but he hadn't yet. He just kept going back to Amelia's arms night after night. And waking alone every morning.

It was killing him.

And he didn't know how much longer the soldier inside him could fight this battle.


	2. Chapter 2-Symptoms

Amelia trailed her fingers over Gabriel's naked back so softly that chill bumps rose in immediate response. She laughed – low and sensual. He rolled over, caught her about the waist, and pulled her against him.

"I love you," he murmured. She raised a hand and ran it through his short cropped hair.

"I love you too, or at least I used to," she teased, "before you cut your hair. . ."

"Are you insulting my hairstyle?" he feigned offense.

"Oh yes," she said, nodding as though completely serious. "In fact, now that you've gotten this haircut, I may have to find someone new."

He slid his hand down her back side and gripped her thigh. She smiled and winked impishly.

"So it's like Samson then?" he inquired, rolling again, this time trapping her beneath him.

"Samson?" she breathed, her eyes dilating slightly as his hands moved over her body.

"You know, Samson and Delilah? Strength in his hair? Didn't you ever go to Sunday School?"

"This is no time to talk about Sunday School," Amelia sighed. "And I think I may be changing my mind about your hair. It's kind of sexy now that I think about it."

"You sure it's the hair you like?" he chuckled, making his move.

He stopped talking for a bit as they sank into one another – their labored breathing the only sound in the darkened room.

If it seemed vaguely off to him, he attributed it to déjà vu. He was happy and content and in that moment he had no reason to doubt that she felt exactly the same. He fell asleep with her legs twined through his.

Peace.

Contentment.

Sleep.

Gabriel woke and his hand slid across the bed searching for Amelia. The sheets were cool to his touch and he frowned. He listened for the shower or the toilet flushing or any of the little signs that her brief absence would end with her in bed beside him. In this early gray of the morning, he wasn't quite awake – not quite online so to speak.

He dozed back off then started at the sound of an alarm preset in the chip. One of many intrusions into his private life that the chip imposed. He reached for Amelia again but now his mind was fully attuned to the chip's easy access and the very thought of his wife pulled up the replay of her death. He strangled back a sob and forced himself to shut down the cyber render that threatened to paralyze him.

He threw back the sheets and made his way to the shower – letting the steaming water wash Amelia from his mind. He checked the time using the chip and dressed in workout shorts before hitting the floor to perform his daily regimen of pushups and crunches. He lost himself in his efforts – taking trivial advantage of the chip to drown out all other thought with audio from a concert by a little known band that had played a backwater club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last night. They were well into their last number and he had moved onto chin-ups when Riley banged on the door.

He cut the audio and dropped to the floor, almost smiling at the thought of keeping her waiting.

Not that keeping her waiting long was much of an option since her key was already turning in the lock when he pulled the door inward. He rolled his eyes.

"Seriously? Isn't there like a five second rule for allowing someone to get to the door before you barge in?" he asked.

She shoved a Styrofoam cup of coffee at him and drank deeply from her own.

"You bought me coffee?" he said, a flirtatious smile lurking in his blue eyes.

"I got tired of you stealing mine," Riley said, rolling her eyes. "And you owe me 3.95 for the coffee."

"I'll paypal it to you," he said as he walked toward his room, taking a swig of the coffee.

"Why not just buy me a cup next time?" she called through the half open door.

In response, he called back, "Too late, already done."

She shook her head and looked around his apartment – it wasn't messy which probably spoke to his military background – but then again, how much mess did you really need when you had the entire internet running around inside your head. Cookbooks? Don't need 'em. ESPN? Instant access. Hell, if he didn't have to eat and sleep he wouldn't need an apartment at all, now that she thought about it.

Which reminded her. . . "Why is it that you're never ready when I'm supposed to pick you up? You're like a high school girl or something."

"Why is it you're always here fifteen minutes before we're supposed to leave?" he said, coming back in dressed in jeans, a tight fitting gray t-shirt, and a leather jacket that looked just worn enough to give the appearance that he didn't care about his appearance.

"I'm not always fifteen minutes early," she said, coolly professional. "I vary my arrival to random intervals around our anticipated time of departure in order to prevent potential threats from being able to pinpoint our exact schedule."

"Of course, you do," Gabriel muttered. "You need a life."

"I have one," she said with a smile that said butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "Yours."

He slammed the door a little harder than necessary as they headed out into the crisp winter day.

The drive to CyberCom was a little quieter than usual which was fine with Riley. Her professional composure was too ingrained to let Gabriel or anyone else know it, but she'd woken with a pounding headache that even two Advil and her favorite coffee was only now beginning to dent. She glanced over at Gabriel as they got out of the car – only now realizing how strange it was for him to lapse into silence.

"Something wrong or you perusing War and Peace over there?" she asked.

"The morning headlines, actually," he shot back.

"Which website?" she asked without thinking.

He snorted, "All of them. There's a hurricane brewing but it should miss the Gulf Coast."

"You have access to all the news in the entire world and you choose to tell me the weather?" Riley asked a bit more sharply than she meant to.

Gabriel sighed, "Would you prefer to know the names of all the babies born in San Diego in March of 1996 instead?"

"Why would I want to know that?" Riley asked.

"Exacty," Gabriel said. "So about the weather. . ."

"What's it look like in Little Rock, Arkansas?" Lillian Strand asked as she approached them from the rear. "Because that's where you're heading."

_A brief apology for getting the Dr's name wrong in the first chapter. I will fix it. I think that must have been the actor's character name in something else he was on._


	3. Chapter 3 - Side effects

The briefing was short and to the point. A deep cover asset had landed in Little Rock late last night, their goal was to download the information the asset was carrying without making physical contact. A break in the asset's cover would mean her death and possibly the death of countless innocent civilians depending on how badly the terrorist cell's leader took his new wife's betrayal.

The day was filled with endless briefings and even the chip couldn't get Gabriel out of the intensive grilling sessions regarding his cover and all the possible scenarios that would require a very specific set of strategic responses. Riley had more patience for it than he did but even she was exhausted by the time they went wheels up at 0200 hours. Riley made a thorough check of the plane to confirm security measures had been properly implemented and then they settled into their seats grateful for the end of a long and tedious day.

Gabriel was snoring lightly when he was overcome with that peaceful, contented feeling that he had seldom felt since the night of the explosion.

"Hey," Amelia whispered, laying a hand on his bare chest, "You awake?"

"Amelia," he breathed her name softly, savoring it.

Her touch was soft and delicate even though her hand were calloused from a long day building her cover. That they'd been able to see each other while she was on this assignment was an unexpected and uncommon blessing.

He smiled in his sleep and caught her small hand between his larger ones. Such tiny, yet capable hands, he lifted her fingertips to his lips and kissed them one by one.

At least, that's what he believed he was doing. He couldn't understand why she jerked her hand away violently and slapped him across his handsome cheek.

"What's that for?" he asked, cupping his jaw, bewildered.

"Don't you like to play rough?" Amelia's mischievous voice was music to his ears. He responded by roughly pulling her into his arms and lowering his lips to her neck.

For his trouble he found himself flat on his back with a slim dark-haired figure towering over him in a defensive posture.

"That's a little too rough, baby," he complained, rubbing the back of his head.

The woman placed her high heeled leather boot firmly on his chest and it was only when she ground the heel in slightly to keep him there that his vision cleared and he realized it wasn't Amelia.

"Gabriel!" the woman – Riley- he was pretty sure her name was Riley – was shouting.

"Someone get Cassiday on the coms now!" she was spitting orders at someone just out of sight.

Gabriel tried to rise again but she had the advantage and she wasn't giving an inch.

"Riley?" he queried, a fuzzy thought surfaced that she was his secret service agent and that she was supposed to protect him. Was she protecting him now? He shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs. He reflexively pulled up her data, reached out for the surveillance on the plane, and dropped his head back to the floor in stunned silence when he saw footage of himself reclining in his seat on the plane – apparently asleep.

Though that wasn't what shocked him – the shocking part was when he opened his eyes and took Riley's hand – brought it to his mouth and gently kissed her fingers. He rewound and watched it again, too stunned to think about how the image made him feel. He allowed the image to progress and saw her jerk her hand away and hit him across the face – HARD. His head recoiled slightly and he heard himself ask what that was for.

"What the hell, Vaughn? This some kind of joke?" Riley said in the footage, rising to her feet. But instead of responding as he would have at any point in his life, covering embarrassment with some sort of joke, he rose and grabbed her roughly – pulled her toward him.

She used his momentum to flip him over her shoulder and onto his back on the floor of the plane.

"That's a little too rough, baby," he heard himself say. And then it clicked – he'd been – what sleepwalking? Sleep-rendering? Whatever he'd been doing, he didn't like it and based on the tight lines of Riley's face she wasn't too crazy about it either.

"Gabriel!" Riley snapped again, "You finally with me?"

"Yeah," he said softly, replaying the footage again and trying to make sense of it. Not that the footage itself didn't make sense, he'd made a fairly aggressive pass at his partner/protector and her response hadn't been unwarranted. The part that didn't make sense was that he wouldn't have done that – he was sure of it. At least, not under those circumstances and not in that way.

"Can I get up now?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Who am I?" Riley responded, her face mirroring his puzzlement while never belying her professional composure and self-control.

"Riley." He said, not elaborating.

"And," she hesitated, "Amelia?"

"Dead." His words were terse.

"And our relationship?" Riley asked.

"Strictly professional," Gabriel said.

"Damn straight, it's strictly professional," Riley said, finally relenting and removing her boot from his chest. She offered a hand to help him up which he took without making his usual protest about not needing help from a girl.

"Sit down, " she commanded, and again he did what she said without arguing. She walked away toward the back of the plane before he could apologize – and he realized that without question he needed to apologize.

He replayed the footage again and tried to reconcile it to the – well, the dream he guessed – that he'd been having. But his eyes had been wide open and he was pretty sure that it hadn't been a dream at all.

Meanwhile, once Riley had fiercely instructed the guard at the back of the plane to keep a close – very close – eye on Gabriel, she made her way to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.

What the hell had just happened? It wasn't just that Gabriel had made a pass at her – he made passes of varying degrees at her all the time. It was that she was almost certain he hadn't known who she was. He'd been staring right at her when he'd kissed her hand – and she was equally sure that he'd called her Amelia.

She ran cold water from the faucet into her hands and splashed it over her face – using a paper towel to pat it dry and smooth away any damage to her makeup. Her reflection looked back at her from the mirror and there wasn't the slightest resemblance to her charge's dead wife.

Well, okay, technically maybe there was the vaguest of resemblances but it was more that they were of a type – athletic, long dark hair, pretty? She brushed aside the last adjective that had skirted her mind – pretty was immaterial. She had a job to do – protecting Gabriel.

The problem was that at this moment, she wasn't sure whether Gabriel was in greater need of a secret service agent, a member of the Geek Squad, or a psychiatrist.


	4. Chapter 4 - Diagnosis

The plane landed in Little Rock and Riley escorted a very apprehensive Gabriel to the safe house they were to work from. By the time they arrived, a team of technicians had set up a makeshift diagnostic station at Dr. Cassiday's direction.

"There's something wrong with the chip – or me – or both," Gabriel said when he and Riley were alone waiting for the final test of the apparatus.

"Yeah, I figured that out," Riley said with a sympathetic smile. Then she attempted to lighten the mood, "I mean, you didn't even buy me dinner first."

"Bought you breakfast once," Gabriel countered, playing along.

"It was midnight," Riley shook her head, relieved to fall back into their usual banter. "A midnight snack at best."

"Nah, any meal eaten in the A.M. becomes breakfast," Gabriel insisted. "And waffles and bacon – come on – who eats waffles and bacon for a snack?"

"We did," Riley said, tipping her nose slightly up and to the left. "Only I skipped the bacon – because it was a SNACK."

The technician opened the door and said Gabriel's name. He rose and started toward it then turned back.

"Guess this is it," he said to Riley. " If they uhm, take me off line, I just wanted to say that I lied on the plane."

"About what?" Riley asked, a little surprised at the sincerity in his voice.

"Our relationship isn't really STRICTLY professional," Gabriel said. He smiled at Riley's shock. "Friends, Agent. We're something pretty close to friends."

She shook away her embarrassment and rolled her eyes. "They aren't going to take you off-line, they're just going to run a check and see if. . .well, I'm not sure what they'll do exactly. But I'll be waiting here when they're done. You know, if it helps."

"Helps a lot," Gabriel admitted, following the technician into the room where Riley watched him lay back on a table that looked a lot like the one back at Cyber Com except it wasn't quite as sleek and polished.

Riley had been waiting for exactly 78 minutes by her watch when Lillian Strand crossed the threshold.

"What happened?" Lillian asked without prelude.

"You've seen the footage by now," Riley inclined her head and Lillian nodded. "It was crazy and he was just so disoriented afterward. And the paramedics already checked him out and his head is fine – at least – they part he was born with is fine."

"His psych evals have been improving lately," Lillian said noncommittally.

"Psych evals?" Riley asked.

"Standard protocol for Clockwork. We're in new territory asking a computer to make a direct connection to the organic matter in his brain. There was always a chance that the human mind simply isn't capable of that kind of connection."

"And you did it anyway?" Riley's voice rose in indignation.

"He volunteered, Agent," Lillian said dismissively. "He knew all the risks – he knew about all the previous failures. He was informed."

"He was a desperate man who would have done anything to find the woman he loved – you took advantage," Riley's accusation was fierce.

"You report to me," Lillian reminded her. "And if I think your personal feelings are getting in the way of your ability to do your job, I will do what I think is necessary to protect Clockwork Understood?"

Riley nodded, holding her tongue.

"Okay," Lillian said with a sigh. "You know that Gabriel reports in daily for various tests and procedures to ensure that the chip is functioning properly AND," Lillian cut her eyes at Riley, " to make sure the chip isn't causing HIM any harm. Part of that involves a series of psychological evaluations, the contents of which you are only made privy to when it affects his security. His SECURITY is your responsibility."

"If he's having psychological lapses where he doesn't even recognize me, I think I should have been made privy to THAT, with all due respect," Riley's tone still bordered on insubordination.

"That's what I was saying before you went all Mama Bear on me," Lilian said in frustration. "His psych evals were a cause of concern back when he was searching for Amelia and after her death – well, for a while there we had tense meetings behind closed doors trying to decide what happens to the man if he isn't stable enough to continue the mission. But lately that had begun to level out. He seemed to be grieving in a healthy way finally and well, this was a surprise to all of us, Riley. For that you have my sincere apology."

"Wait, you're saying that he's been steadily getting better?" Riley asked.

"That's right. Better and better, he was becoming MORE stable, not less. Then this came completely out of left field."

The door opened and the technician stepped out. "Dr. Cassiday wants to speak to everyone at the same time," he said, gesturing toward the door.

Lillian and Riley proceeded through it just as Gabriel sat up on the table looking absolutely fine. It was almost disconcerting.

Dr. Cassiday's face appeared on the laptop monitor looking a lot less fine than Gabriel did.

"Good afternoon ladies," Dr. Cassiday began, nervously. "First of all, I think we may have caught it in time."

The words fell on them like a lead balloon. Only Gabriel looked untouched.

Lillian's spine straightened and Riley moved closer to the table, closing a hand over Gabriel's left shoulder. He covered her hand with his and offered her a reassuring smile – which was so exactly the opposite of what she felt should be happening.

"So, let's have it, doc," Gabriel addressed the screen. "I can see the notes on your screen but they can't."

"It's like a virus," Cassiday said, "A vicious one – it's attached to the cyber rendering program in the chip and it's – well, it's a poor analogy but you know those viruses that grab other people's email addresses out of your contact list and send them email that looks like it's from you?"

"Yes," Lillian said as Riley nodded.

"Well, this one is accessing Gabriel's memories and sending him a message that they're happening right then at the second they cross his mind."

"But you can stop it," Lillian, stated it as though her assertion could make it fact.

"Yes and no,"Cassiday said sadly. "I can shut down the chip."

"No," Gabriel and Lilian spoke as one. Riley only tightened her grip on his shoulder.

"Not permanently," Cassiday reassured them. "Just until I can figure out how to get rid of the bad code. If I try to battle this thing while the chip is active, I'll do more harm than good AND there's a chance that the elevated levels of neurotransmitters that are a side effect of this thing COULD cause neurological damage of some sort."

"What about the mission? The information Gabriel is supposed to retrieve has national security implications," Lillian was all business.

"The mission?" Riley interjected. "You said not five minutes ago that my job was Gabriel's security and now you're about to put his entire well-being at risk for one single mission."

"You JOB is to keep him secure WHILE he performs his missions. And the decision hasn't been made. I'm asking Dr. Cassiday, " She turned her attention back to the screen. "Can he perform this mission before you take the chip off line?"

Gabriel watched as the three of them argued back and forth about the best course of action. Lillian was dead set on the mission. Riley was against it. And Dr. Cassiday was waffling which wasn't helping the situation at all. He stood to his feet.

"Do I get a say?" he asked.

Everyone looked at him.

"Because last time I checked, I'm a member of this team, right?" he looked from face to face and only Lillian held his gaze.

"Are you physically and mentally prepared to complete this mission?" Lillian asked.

"I am," Gabriel stated simply.

"And are you physically and mentally prepared to provide backup and support Agent Neal?" Lillian addressed Riley.

"Under protest, but yes," Riley stated, struggling to find her usual composure.

"Then, let's get this done," Lillian said. "And then we'll be putting clockwork on the bench until we can find a more permanent solution."

Riley and Gabriel kept their eyes straight ahead as they made their way to the vehicle that they'd been assigned.

"I'm driving, " Gabriel said.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Riley said, reaching for the door handle at the same time he did.

"I'm fine right now," Gabriel said irritably.

"Yes," Riley agreed, "But ten minutes from now you may have a memory of playing Mario Kart and drive us into a lake."

"That's below the belt," Gabriel snapped, but he snatched his hand away from the door and moved to the passenger side.

"You are NOT field-ready," she said once they were inside the SUV. She started the engine and headed out.

"It only happens when I'm asleep! I'm wide-awake right now," he exploded.

"Wait, you mean this has happened before!" Riley was incredulous.

"Well," Gabriel backtracked, "Not exactly like that. I mean, there's never been anybody there so no, of course it hasn't happened before."

Riley pulled the vehicle to the shoulder of the road and turned to face him.

"Exactly what HAS happened before?" she asked, the anger in her voice had given way to concern. "If I'm going to protect you I need to know what's really going on."

"It's Amelia," he said, dropping his head back against the headrest. "Thinking Amelia is right there with me. That's happened before. And then I wake up – her death hits me all over again."

"You mean, like it just happened?" She asked.

"Like I'm there with her one minute. Then I'm waking up trying to figure out why she's not there and the stupid chip grabs the first image that explains her away."

"The explosion?" Riley tried.

"Got it in one," he said with a bitter sigh.

"You know you aren't really asleep when it happens," Riley pointed out. She'd been given a full report on his condition by Dr. Cassiday at her own insistence. "The latest tests show that you've been getting minimal real sleep for who knows how long."

"Maybe that's why I'm so damn tired," he admitted, his own anger burning out in the face of her genuine concern. "Feel a million years old. Just thought it was the grieving – they say grieving's hard work."

"Oh, You don't look bad," Riley said, trying for a lighter note, "for a million year old guy anyway."

Gabriel laughed. "I'm sorry about that stuff back on the plane – you've got to know that I'm not that kind of guy. If I ever really decide to kiss you, it would be much – you know – nicer."

"Nice, huh?" Riley gave him an exaggerated wink. "Nice is how your grandmother kisses you on top of the head. If I'm being kissed by a man, I'm not sure I want it to be 'nice'."

"And how do you like to be kissed," Gabriel asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Unexpectedly," Riley said with a grin. "And with you know, finesse."

Gabriel laughed out loud and the mood lightened 100%. She pulled the automobile back onto the road much more at ease than when they'd first set out – although the situation wasn't really one damn bit better. Except for the fact that they seemed to be on the same side again.

"Well, if I ever meet a fellow whose of a mind to kiss you, I'll be sure to give him pointers," Gabrield said, reaching out for the data from the mission brief to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

"You do that, dimples," Riley said, focusing on the heavy traffic. "And read that mission brief out loud."

When he glanced at her in surprise, she shrugged and said, "Some of us don't need a chip."


	5. Chapter 5 - Relapse

The asset was in deep cover – over her head deep - if the mission brief was to be believed. She'd been assigned to get close to the leader of a terrorist cell that moved its location frequently and seemingly randomly. Marriage hadn't been part of the assignment but somehow that's what had happened. Now, two years later, her personal life was so deeply entwined with her assignment that extraction would almost certainly lead to an international incident.

Recently, her husband had become suspicious of her fidelity and her freedom had been severely restricted. This made passing information tricky over the last few months and near impossible for the last ten days. Her trip to the U.S. was their best chance to retrieve the most recent intel. And Gabriel was their best instrument for retrieval.

Not that it wouldn't have been possible for an agent with the right techno-gadgets to get close enough and download that same data, but Gabriel's tech was faster and more mobile. And, in the event that the cover was blown, he would also be able to initiate an immediate extraction.

Riley was still dubious about Gabriel's current level of fitness for duty, but her own first duty was to protect Gabriel so here she was scanning the hotel lobby for possible threats. The interior was ornate and not to her taste but she supposed it would appeal to some. From a security perspective, she hated it. She liked having the multiple exit points, but the numerous decorative potted palms mingled with baroque statues created entirely too much cover for adversaries. She had actually called and requested more backup but true to form, Gabriel had barged in before backup arrived and she had no choice but to accompany him.

"Slow down," she hissed at him.

"Can't you keep up?" he countered.

"I can keep up fine but I can't assess the threats if you keep running ahead."

"I'm in the security feed. We're fine."

Except, suddenly they weren't. Suddenly, every nightmare scenario she'd thought of as they came through the front door came true.

"Ambush," she barked drawing her weapon, expecting Gabriel to do the same, but instead he stood as though in a daze. "Gabriel!"

He didn't respond. A woman on the staircase was raising a rifle, the laser target centered on Gabriel's forehead.

"Backup, NOW!" Riley screamed into her radio, shoving Gabriel to one side with her hip and taking out two of the enemy agents with her firearm. The fire was returned but Gabriel still wasn't responding.

"Damn it, Gabriel! We're under fire!" Riley brought her elbow up under Gabriel's ribs hoping to jar him out of his trance but instead of waking up, he pushed her aside and took a step toward the woman on the stairs who was lining up her shot again – the woman's movements seemed slow and sure but they had entered the lobby less than a minute ago. Riley fired at the woman and was shocked when Gabriel knocked her weapon to the ground.

The front doors burst open and the backup was there. They took over the battle with enemy agents allowing Riley to focus her attention on her more immediate problems. Gabriel was proceeding toward the woman on the stairs who had again centered her laser sight between Gabriel's eyes.

Riley's training kicked in. She was a secret service agent trained to prepare, prepare, prepare. That eliminated a huge percentage of threats.

Failing that, she should get her charge out of harm's way. But her charge wasn't responding to her cues – he wasn't even responding to the events unfolding around him.

That left one course of action.

If she couldn't eliminate the threat… And she couldn't remove her charge from the situation. . . .

She lunged at him, but she didn't have a good angle and he didn't go down. Desperately she gripped his upper arms and pivoted, placing herself between Gabriel and the bullet.

She was successful. And then she was unconscious.

For Gabriel, the events had seemed quite different. He'd seen much what she had as they entered the lobby. He'd shuffled down the steps of the entry way to get a better signal from the wi-fi.

"Slow down," she'd hissed at him.

"Can't you keep up?" he countered.

"I can keep up fine but I can't assess the threats if you keep running ahead."

"I'm in the security feed. We're fine."

And they were, from his perspective.

Hell, they were more than fine. It was as though every day since Amelia died had been a nightmare and now he was waking up. She was standing on the stairs. She held out her hand and he started toward her before the woman at his side rudely bumped into him and then had the nerve to tell him to "back up".

He didn't care though. He smiled at Amelia and she smiled back. The woman rammed her elbow into him now and although he was irritated, he only pushed her aside and moved toward Amelia. Then Amelia dodged to one side and Gabriel realized the crazy woman jostling him was shooting at Amelia.

He pivoted and knocked her weapon away, wondering who in the hell she was and why she was firing on a perfectly innocent woman. The door burst open and he saw men with guns rush in – he had only one goal – get to Amelia and keep her safe. He surged toward her.

And then that woman lunged at him. Even when he felt the weight of her body sag against him, he didn't register what was happening. He let her slide to the floor and watched in horror as someone behind him took two quick shots and Amelia fell to the marble tile in a pool of blood.

He was still cradling the woman he thought to be Amelia when the paramedics loaded Riley onto a gurney and rolled her away.

Dr. Cassiday approached him from behind and sighed deeply. He spoke Gabriel's name but like Riley before him, he got no response. He placed the probe he held about an inch away from Gabriel's head immediately over the location of the chip. He pressed a button.

And Gabriel was unconscious. When he woke up, he would discover that he had NOT been successful.


	6. Chapter 6 - Treatment

Gabriel woke in a bright room strapped to a table. He reached out for a wi-fi signal to determine his location and came up empty. He blinked rapidly to adapt to the bright light and attempted to use the chip to latch onto a satellite and determine his latitude and longitude but that didn't work either. He lifted his head and looked for someone who could tell him where he was and why he was tied down. The room was empty the best he could tell.

He relaxed his head and closed his eyes again – he had an unbelievable headache. The last time his head ached like this was after the surgery when they implanted the chip. Thinking of the chip, he tried again to access the internet and got nowhere. Okay, then something more basic.

That first day that Cassidy had begun to teach him to use the chip they'd started with what? A game. It had been some sort of game – something simple. No, it was music of some kind. But he couldn't find that either. It was gone. The chip's capabilities were completely absent.

"Anybody home?" he called, his voice sounded raspy to his ears.

"Cassidy? Strand? Riley?" he asked the empty room, straining his neck to look around.

Nelson stepped into his line of sight. "They aren't here."

"Huh? Why not?" Gabriel asked.

"Strand is probably on a conference call with the White House trying to defend the decision to send you into the field. Dad's locked in his office trying to find out how much damage the virus did to the chip and Riley's still in surgery," Nelson said. "Also, you're on suspension so I wasn't even supposed to tell you that much."

Gabriel tried to process what he was being told, but he was so accustomed to supplementing his own synapses with the chip's processing power that it felt like he was slogging through knee-deep mud. Why was he suspended? And why was Riley in surgery? Wait. Surgery meant she was hurt.

"Is she okay?" he blurted. "Riley? What's wrong with her? Is she alright?"

Nelson gaped at Gabriel. "You don't remember? You don't remember – at all?"

Gabriel pounded the back of his head against the table trying desperately to remember what was going on but all that did was send shock waves of pain through his already pounding head.

"Tell me what's going on!" Gabriel roared.

But Nelson turned his back and his shoulders drooped as he walked out the door without answering. Gabriel had no choice but to watch him go and although he rubbed his arms and chest raw fighting the restraints, he was still lying there an hour later when Lillian Strand returned.

"Where's Riley?" Gabriel asked the second she stepped inside.

"I can't release that information to you," Lillian said wearily.

"Why the hell not?" Gabriel spat.

"Because Clockwork has been suspended pending further investigation," Lillian snapped back.

"What?" Gabriel asked, stunned.

"Suspended. Temporarily decommissioned. Or to put it more simply, no need to show up for work tomorrow. Understand?" Lillian said coldly.

"I don't care about any of that," Gabriel said, pounding a fist against the table. "What happened to Riley?"

"Officially?" Lillian said in clipped tones. "Officially, Agent Riley Neal is no longer on your security detail and will be receiving a commendation for service above and beyond the call of duty."

"Unofficially?" Gabriel whispered, dread slowly replacing the anger he'd been feeling at being kept in the dark.

"Unoffically," Lillian said, shaking her head in obvious frustration. "Unofficially, due to my arrogance and yours, Riley nearly died trying to save your sorry ass. And she's not out of the woods yet."

Gabriel opened his mouth to speak but Strand held up her hand, "And no, I cannot tell you where they took her because they didn't tell me either. And no, I cannot find out because you aren't the only one suspended."

"An apology wouldn't mean much at this point I guess," Gabriel offered, subdued.

"No," Lillian sighed. "But I'll do give you one anyway. Gabriel, I'm sorry I sent you into the field when you were obviously compromised. It was my responsibility to see the big picture and I failed."

"I'm not sure you could have stopped me," he pointed out.

"Of course, I could have," Lillian said, her professional demeanor settling back into place despite the present circumstances. "You aren't going anywhere now, are you?"

"Guess not," he admitted. "What happens now?"

Lillian shrugged. "Cassidy will be in to talk to you soon, I think. He'll probably send you home and he might be able to tell you where they took Riley. I have to go grab some personal things from my office before I'm escorted out."

"You're really suspended?" Gabriel asked, still processing information much more slowly than he was used to.

"Temporarily," she said with a halfhearted smile. "And if I hear anything about Riley I'll let you know. You'll do the same?"

He nodded.

"Try to rest. You may not remember it but you had a hell of a day."

When Cassidy did finally show up, the news wasn't good. His work on finding a solution to the virus had been shut down and he no longer had access to cyber command. Until the investigation was over, Gabriel was off line. He was released and escorted out of cyber command – a cab was waiting to take him home.

When he got there, Gabriel realized that he didn't have a single device capable of accessing the internet. He did have a landline – more because he'd never bothered having it disconnected than because he actually used it. He picked up the phone and asked information for the number of every hospital in the city. Then he called each one only to find that HIPAA prevented hospitals from releasing so much as the name of a patient without their express permission.

In frustration, he jerked the phone cord from the wall and slung the offending item against the wall.

He needed to find Riley. Needed to apologize. But mostly, needed to know she was okay.

It was two in the morning before he stopped pacing and finally fell asleep on his sofa and he was awake again by four. He showered quickly, pulled on his clothes and made his way to the garage where the personal vehicle that he rarely used was parked. If he didn't have to go to work today then he was damn well going wherever he wanted. And sometime while he slept, his plain old flesh and blood brain had finally remembered where he and Riley had been headed before everything got so hazy.

Little Rock.

That was as good a place to start looking for her as any.


	7. Chapter 7 - Recovery

Not having access to the chip was one thing, not having access to the internet was quite another. Gabriel's first stop on his way out of town was the nearest Target where he quickly acquired a new smartphone and tablet. It took him a minute to gear down from his usual instant access, but he was glad to learn that he retained at least some of the computer skills he'd learned while utilizing the chip. Within minutes, he learned that a shooting had occurred in Little Rock at an exclusive hotel called The Wayfarer less than 48 hours ago.

The details of the shooting were sketchy but the official story seemed to be that there were no casualties other than the gunman himself although there had been three people injured. He checked the social networking sites to see if there were any other details the official stories were missing. He found a cache of images taken by a seventeen year old girl named Holley from across the street well behind the police barricades.

He was growing impatient with the snail's pace at which he was able to review the pictures when he spotted something.

There.

He zoomed in on the image and saw a gurney being loaded into an ambulance marked St. Bartholomew's Memorial Hospital. The figure on the gurney was mostly hidden by the paramedic but it looked like it could be Riley. He clicked on the next few images and there wasn't a clearer shot of Riley but he hit pay dirt anyway.

A second gurney was caught on film – this one being loaded into an unmarked white van – but he'd know the figure on that gurney anywhere – it was him.

He tossed his newly acquired technology onto the front passenger seat, put his car in gear, and headed for Little Rock – St. Bartholomew's Memorial Hospital specifically.

Meanwhile, in the 48 hours since the shooting, Riley had not been having the most fantastic days off she'd ever had.

First, there was the waking up in the ambulance when the driver hit a pothole and feeling both the burning pain where the bullet had pierced her soft flesh and the smothering sensation of not being able to breathe. She gasped and tried to sit up but firm hands held her where she was. She fought for breath for a little while then lost consciousness again despite her best efforts.

She woke again briefly in the emergency room, disoriented and confused. There was something in her throat and she couldn't speak. Her eyes searched the room for someone – she tried to focus – someone she was protecting.

Gabriel. Where was Gabriel?

She remembered that she'd been protecting Gabriel. She tried to speak again but someone was speaking soothingly into her ear.

It would be okay, the soothing voice said.

She began to feel thick headed and knew on some level that they'd given her something to make her sleep. As she drifted away she realized that she was glad they'd taken away the pain.

It was weird waking after the surgery. The cool quiet and the antiseptic smell were disconcerting. She felt like something was missing. The pain. The pain was gone for now. She tried to shift so she could look around and it felt like her body wasn't responding the way it should. A woman in neon green scrubs appeared with a smile that seemed too bright and perky by half.

"You're in recovery," the perky one explained. She said some other things but Riley was too groggy to grasp most of it. The gist of it seemed to be that she should rest and let them take care of her. Letting people take care of her didn't come naturally to Riley but she was much too tired to resist. The next time she woke she was in a small curtained room in intensive care.

And she was exhausted. The pain medications helped her sleep and when she slept, she dreamed of the moments before she stepped in front of the bullet. In the dreams she was terrified – not for herself but for the man she had been assigned to protect. About the same time Gabriel pulled onto the interstate headed for Little Rock, the doctors finally removed the tube from Riley's throat so that she could speak.

It felt like she was swallowing broken glass, but she still managed to choke out the question that had plagued every moment – both unconscious and waking – since the surgery.

"Is Gabriel okay?"


	8. Chapter 8 - Cured

Gabriel wasn't okay. But he'd be better when he got to Riley – at least, that was what he told himself. The interstate stretched before him and without the information from the chip clouding his brain for the first time in so long, he reached for the radio to drown out the self-accusations. It didn't work entirely but occasionally the odd lyric took him down a different line of thinking so that he didn't get stuck in a rut.

The day of the shooting wasn't completely gone for him. He remembered bits and pieces – joking about the weather – fighting with Riley – wait. Why had he been fighting with Riley? It was infuriating to try and remember. He thought of calling and asking Cassidy why his memory of that day was Swiss cheese, but instead he focused on what he did know.

The chip had been malfunctioning lately and it had gotten worse. He'd thought Riley was Amelia.

Riley had wanted him out of the field. Lillian had overruled her and he'd sided with Lillian - they'd gone into the field under Riley's protest. That must have been what the fighting was about.

Hotel California came on the radio and suddenly he remembered walking into a hotel with Riley and then. . .nothing.

Nothing until he woke up with Nelson telling him the chip had been shut down until Dr. Cassidy could find a way to fix the virus.

He stopped for gas at a Mapco and bought a cup of coffee that tasted like crap. He drank it anyway and kept driving. The radio station played out and it was fifteen miles before he noticed he was listening to static. He clicked the damn thing off it frustration.

Clicked it off and there was silence – just like the chip.

Maybe that was the problem with his memory of that day – it was like the radio. Somewhere the DJ was still playing tunes and if he'd been within range, he'd still be hearing them. Somewhere on the chip was his memory of the events at the hotel, but it had been turned off so it was as lost to him as the last bars of the song that had been playing when the static started. Whatever happened couldn't have been good – with him and Riley both leaving on stretchers and Lillian on suspension.

He pulled into the hospital parking lot hungry, sleep deprived, and full of self-loathing. Dr. Cassidy met him at the door.

"Well hell Gabriel, you should have told me you needed a ride," Cassidy remarked casually.

"They said," Gabriel began but Cassidy cut him off.

"Don't listen to everything you hear," Cassidy said in the same off-hand tone. "She's okay. That's what you came here to find out, isn't it?"

"Did I . . .?"

"No. Not directly, although your bull-headedness was largely to blame for what happened. I can show you if you like – I was able to download some of the data from the chip before they shut me down."

"Can I see her?" Gabriel asked.

"I doubt it," Cassidy said, not unsympathetically. "Immediate family only I believe. Come here. The data is in the van – I can show you what happened."

Gabriel let his old friend take his arm and lead him to the black unmarked van. He climbed inside of his own volition. He heard his old friend whisper an apology as he slid a needle into his arm just before the blackness overtook him.

Time passed strangely for him after that. He wasn't completely unconscious but he wasn't aware of his surroundings either. He could hear voices. Broken pieces of hushed conversations.

"Never should have chosen him."

"Too risky from the start."

"He always had a personal agenda."

"Risky procedure."

"Better candidate anyway."

"More clear-headed"

"Will he be able to function after?"

He couldn't move – couldn't quite decide if they were discussing him or someone else. And it was dark – so damn dark.

Then the lights came on. The room was quiet except for the sound of the monitors that kept track of his heart rate and other bodily functions. He turned his head and saw Riley seated on a stool at his side. She was pale and dressed in civilian clothes but otherwise she looked alright. Hell, more than alright – she was a sight for sore eyes.

"Hey," she said, when she saw that he was looking at her.

"Hey," he replied. "You okay?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing," she said, a crooked smile lighting up her face. "I'm okay." She reassured him.

"What did I do?" he asked, not wanting the answer and yet needing it.

"You screwed up," Riley said with a shrug. "Big time."

"Did I hurt you?" his handsome features were twisted with torment.

"No," she said matter-of-factly. "Your brain shorted out and I had to save you. You know, all in a day's work."

"What happened really?" he begged.

She bit her lip and looked toward the flat screen monitor mounted on the wall opposite his bed. She squinted slightly and the screen came on – a little static – then the security footage of the events in the hotel unrolled.

When he saw her fall to the ground, tears came unbidden to his eyes. He shook his head. A tear dripped down his cheek as he watched himself let Riley fall and go past her to cradle the complete stranger who had just shot his partner and protector.

"No," he whispered. "I wouldn't, I couldn't."

The picture on the monitor died and Riley reached over and took his hand.

"It was my job," she said softly, reassuringly.

"You could have died," he said, not able to look at her.

She squeezed his hand again. "It was MY JOB," she said enunciating each syllable.

"I'm not worth you dying over," he spat.

"Oh for heaven's sake," Riley said irritation creeping into her voice. "I'm trying to be noble here – yes, you screwed up. Yes, you thought you could do anything because you were invincible. Yes, you damn near got us both killed. And no, now that I think about it – you're probably NOT worth dying over except for one thing." Her voice had risen with each sentence.

"The chip," he said miserably, glad on some level that she was practically yelling at him now.

"No, not the chip," she snapped.

"Then what would make you say I was worth what you went through," he said sulkily.

"Friends." Riley said simply.

"We're. . .still friends," Gabriel said in disbelief.

"Of course, we're still friends, you big gorilla," Riley sighed.

They were both silent for a moment, letting it sink in that they were both alive, that they were both okay, that they were both still friends.

"Just friends?" Gabriel said when the silence had gotten awkward.

"Yep," Riley said. "But good friends."

"Right," Gabriel replied. "So, you going to help me track Cassidy down and find out why he knocked me out?"

"Uhm, no," Riley said.

Gabriel pushed himself up to a seated position and swung his legs around so that he faced her. "What kind of friend are you?"

"The kind of friend that saves your ass over and over and over," Riley rolled her eyes.

Gabriel tried to stand, but dizziness brought him back to a seated position. He scowled at Riley.

"You know that Cassidy knocked me out?" Gabriel said.

"Yep." Riley nodded.

"And you're down with that?" Gabriel asked.

"Yep. He had no choice. The more he looked into the chip, the more damage he found. Mei Chen really put a whammy on you."

Gabriel opened his mouth but she held up her hand to stop him. She continued.

"The chip was toast. Not only that – the longer you stayed hooked up to it – the more it was starting to affect the brain tissue that was tied into it. It was killing you – or at least your higher brain function – it had to come out."

Gabriel reached a hand up and touched the back of his head. His hair was gone and there was a bandage.

"It's gone?" Gabriel asked, both relieved and disappointed at the same time.

Riley laid a comforting hand on his arm and smiled sympathetically. He placed a hand over hers and held it in place. He looked around the room thinking that he'd never tap into the wireless again – never tap into –

"Wait! If the chip's gone, how'd the monitor replay the footage at the hotel? I mean – no one else is in here – I must've. . ." he trailed off as she grimaced and extracted her hand.

"Riley, what aren't you telling me?" Gabriel asked.

"Well, you see," Riley said leaning in closer. "Truth is. You lost your old job, right?"

"Right," Gabriel said, wondering where this was going.

"And well that means, I lost my old job, right?" she continued.

"Right," Gabriel drawled.

"So, I'm not really supposed to tell you this, but Lillian is going to come through that door in a minute and offer you a new job." Riley said, her eyes twinkling with mischievousness.

"Spit it out, Neal," Gabriel barked.

"There's a new chip – and this time they found a much more professional competent agent to put it in." Riley said.

"That hurts, Neal. It's well-deserved but it still hurts," Gabriel said, thinking that perhaps he might have an inkling where this was going.

"She's going to offer to make you part of my protection detail," Riley said confirming his suspicion.

"YOU'VE got the chip?" he said, not sure how he felt about it.

"A different chip – but yeah," she said. "Loud as hell isn't it?"

Gabriel chuckled. "You get used to it. Sorta."

"Thanks – real comforting sort of friend you are." Riley said, her shoulder relaxing a bit as she realized he wasn't angry at her for the turn of events.

"There's just one problem," Gabriel said, his blue eyes twinkling a little for the first time in a while.

"What's that?" Riley asked.

"Well, it's going to be hell to surprise you when I get ready to give you a real kiss," he said with a wink.

"In your dreams, Vaughn," Riley said with a laugh.

But it turned out that she wasn't that hard to surprise after all, because the last thing she expected in that moment was the warmth of his mouth pressing against hers. Her lips responded without any help from the chip. And when they parted, neither spoke.

But somewhere inside the part of her brain that now stored her memories as data, Riley made an entry under the name Gabriel Vaughn. It was one simple word in a file that no one else would see – FINESSE.

The End.

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed and favorited. Here's hoping we get another season to enjoy – every episode seems to get better and better. Thanks again for reading! K


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